


Paid in Kind

by divisionten



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Ultimate Talent Development Plan (Dangan Ronpa), extreme fear of medical staff, k1-b0 discovers human anatomy, no blood or anything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-13
Updated: 2017-12-13
Packaged: 2019-02-14 08:33:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13003890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/divisionten/pseuds/divisionten
Summary: When K1-b0 needs repair, Miu takes care of him. He wishes to repay her in kind.(Talent Development AU, no smut- though discussions of human anatomy)





	Paid in Kind

**Author's Note:**

  * For [candiedviolets](https://archiveofourown.org/users/candiedviolets/gifts).



> I actually wanted to write something dirty!
> 
> I'm an asexual and I just don't /get/ sex. At all. But as I wrote this, I realized one of two things had to happen- either I needed to just write a long smut scene with only roleplay and no why, or I had to drop the smut because it made no sense with where the plot was actually going.
> 
> I did the latter. So I present a Miu/K1-b0 M rated fanfic that is PWP- Plot Without Porn.
> 
> If someone else wants to use the core conceit of this fic in an /actual/ PWP, I'm genuinely curious what they'll write.
> 
> Please enjoy...?

“Aaaaaand, done.” Miu said, rolling up the isopropyl covered rag and smacking K1-b0 with it. “How do you feel?”

“Wonderful,” K1-b0 replied, turning his servos back on, rotating his wrist.

“I don’t know how you did it, but two of your gears chipped. I replaced them with steel. They’re so tiny the increased weight shouldn’t even be noticeable, but hey, if it is too much for your delicate little arm, you let me know and I’ll mold some out of ABS. Am I a genius or what?”

K1-b0 blushed a little. “The smartest and most beautiful,” he replied.

Miu blushed in turn, stammering and looking at the floor. For someone exuding the confidence she did, she couldn’t take a compliment at all.

“Let’s get your exoskeleton back on,” she replied, deflecting his response, looking at the heavy black fabric and the plates strewn on the floor. “And remind me the next time you come in for servicing. If the fabric can get washed, I can throw it in while I’m working on you.”

* * *

K1-b0 may not need to eat, but he did like joining his classmates at the cafeteria. As usual, Kazuichi could immediately notice when K1-b0 had been serviced, grunting to ask him next time.

K1-b0 would do his best to alternate, but he preferred Miu’s approach to Kazuichi’s. He treated him more like any other electronic- if K1-b0 came to him, it was ‘take off exoskeleton, lay down, explain problem, and shut up’. Not that this was necessarily a bad thing- and if K1-b0 was having power supply problems Kazuichi was by far the better person to see- but he liked Miu’s approach far more.

Miu always talked through whatever she was doing in great detail, while Kazuichi preferred to work in silence, sure, but that wasn’t the only difference. Miu was a lot more... loving. She’d coo, and fawn over K1-b0, and while Kazuichi also enjoyed tinkering on the robot, he was far more methodical.

That, and Miu tended to be a lot more proactive. Kazuichi was pretty single minded, when it came to repair. If K1-b0’s LED eye burned out, he’d replace it and check the power supply. If Miu worked on him, she’d still check everything else, even if K1-b0 didn’t ask, looking for cracks or dents, or wires whose solder was coming loose. And she’d always give him a full cleaning, sometimes even a wax if she had nothing better to do that day.

Kazuichi was an excellent mechanic, but Miu actually put K1-b0’s mind at ease.

“Earth to loverbot.” Kokichi. Of course.

“What now?” K1-b0 asked sighing, as the short demon grinned at him, a tray of curry in his hand and a grin on his face.

“Well if  **_you_ ** can’t see how jealous Kazuichi is right now, maybe ask to get your camera density upgraded,” Kokichi replied, laughing hysterically.

K1-b0 blushed. “How can you deduce all of that?”

“Well, you’re shiny, which means you’ve just come out of sexytime with Cumdumpster over there, because maaaaaaaan does she like to overuse the wax- I mean  **_lube_ ** . I swear it’s her version of leaving hickeys all over. It’s pretty clear when she’s just put her hands on you.”

K1-b0 turned redder. “I appreciate her cleaning regiment. It prevents foreign object ingress.”

“I’m suuuuuure it does, buddy,” Kokichi replied, snickering. “Maybe you should thank her by giving  **_her_ ** a tune up for once.”

Kokichi skipped off to sit and enjoy his lunch with Celeste. How the two of them even managed to be friends without strangling each other, K1-b0 couldn’t tell.

And while Kokichi certainly sounded sarcastic, K1-b0 pondered. Maybe he  **_should_ ** service Miu in return.

* * *

“Hello,” K1-b0 said cautiously. Hajime was sighing over homework in an empty classroom. The brown-haired kid almost fell out of his chair, then looked up.

“Oh. Hey K1-b0, don’t do that.”

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m just working on the dissociation exercises Toko gave me. Izuru and I are... having a chat.”

“The two of you can talk to each other in your head? I thought you needed to speak aloud and keep switching places back and forth.”

K1-b0 had heard them arguing before. It was probably the weirdest thing he’d witnessed, as Izuru was chiding Hajime to just  **_pick a birthday gift for Chiaki already_ ** .

“Sort of. We have each other’s memories, so if I think about something and then force us to switch out fast enough, he gets the message and we can talk privately. And he can do the same thing the other way. We’re still trying to get used to it. Of course, he’s a lot better at it than me, but given it’s not actually an Ultimate skill... he has to practice too, for once. I think he enj-“

Hajime’s eyes glazed for a split second. “I do enjoy it. It’s something new to do.”

“Izuru what did I say about finishing my sentences for me?” Hajime asked annoyed.

“Don’t.”

“Thank you.”

K1-b0 laughed. If anyone could take Hajime’s situation, it was Hajime himself.

“So why are you here?” Hajime asked.

“Erm, because I thought both of you might be able to give me some advice,” K1-b0 articulated, embarrassed.

“Who did you want to talk to?”

“Well, I...” K1-b0 started embarrassed. “I wanted to thank Miu for servicing me.”

Hajime shook his head for a second. “Why does everyone assume I am the best at figuring out gifts for their girlfriends? It’s Izuru. Hajime fell back.”

K1-b0 twiddled his fingers. “I was wondering what would be part of a common spa treatment and what I might need to acquire. And if this is even an appropriate gift in kind.”

Izuru laughed. “Spa treatment or “ **_spa_ ** ” treatment?” he asked.

“Er, the former for sure, but,” K1-b0 started, completely understanding the implications of the latter. “If Miu wanted it, the latter as well.”

Izuru blinked. “Oh,” he said quietly. Hajime again. K1-b0 could tell by the sudden shift in posture. “Er, well, were you looking to ask Kazuichi for any... er, additions? Down there?”

“No, I just wanted to please her.”

Another shift as Hajime swapped out, Izuru slouching in his chair. “Stop dancing around the words. What did you want to do for her?”

“Well, a massage at the very least. She’s tense. And if she wanted it... I figured I would offer to help her... masturbate. This is for her, not me.”

“Ahhhh. So, you probably need lotion, maybe some scented oil, and lube. Especially since your fingers are metal. You don’t want to tear her vagina.” It sounded so... clinical, the way Izuru said it. Like he was almost bored.

K1-b0 looked alarmed. “I could cause bleeding?”

“If you’re not careful. Yeah.”

K1-b0 slumped in a chair. “I don’t want to hurt her. I won’t do anything then.”

The brown-haired kid sat upright, leaning in, and smiled softly. Hajime again. K1-b0 was long used to it by now but it still managed to make it difficult for him to discern who he was talking to and was usually too embarrassed to ask. “Well, when Miu works on you, she’s working with power tools and solder and stuff right? What would happen if she wasn’t careful?”

“She’d break something. But that’s always fixable. If I hurt her, well i can’t just weld her up again.”

“Has she ever accidentally hurt you?”

“I don’t have pain receptors.”

Hajime sighed and rubbed his temple. “I mean has she ever messed up an operation?”

“Nothing I can think of.”

“So she’s being careful with you. You just need to do the same. You’ll do fine. Just listen to her and ask what she wants. If she says stop, you stop.”

“That’s... it?”

“If you’re feeling really uncertain go ask Chihiro to patch in some info packs for you? I know they would. Or, actually. Izuru?”

“Yes,” Izuru said, after a momentary pause. “I can load in some information for you in your memory banks if you’d like it fast tracked.”

“It would put my mind at ease. Thank you, Izuru.”

* * *

K1-b0 preferred to learn the old-fashioned way- by reading. He could always have his data banks mass loaded but, while the process didn’t hurt, it always left his mind swimming as he actually parsed and understood it all.

Especially in this case where Izuru gave him several anatomy textbooks and the contents of three full esthetician’s online courses.

“Take your time and sit,” K1-b0 didn’t know which one was being kind to him. Izuru was slowly warming up to having friends at the academy, so while it was pretty clear to guess who was speaking when their voice snapped at someone, compassion was harder to gauge.

“Thank you both,” K1-b0 settled on as he let his processors start to sort and organize everything into long term memory.

* * *

Kazuichi laughed at him. “You want me to do what?”

“T-this,” K1-b0 said, embarrassed, holding out a rough sketch.

“And you’re not asking Miu for this beeeeeecause?” he added teasing, jabbing K1-b0 where ribs would be if he had any. “Don’t worry. I gotchu.”

“You’re not mad?”

“Are you kidding? Getting to mess around on you is a friggin wet dream man. Uh, don’t take it the wrong way,” he added, scratching the bubblegum-colored hair on the back of his neck. “You wanna have fun with your girlfriend,  **_that_ ** I’m okay with. More than okay. Happy for you, my man. Just remember your wingman at the wedding, right?” he added with a screeching laugh.

“I’ll admit, I’m a little jelly when you ask her for upgrades and not me. Makes me feel a bit second rate. But I can’t compete with a pretty girl like her who knows her way around a spanner set, too. Just let me take you apart and put you back together from time to time and I’ll be happy.”

K1-b0 nodded quietly. “Thanks.”

“Now, let me go and -ahem- get those upgrades in order, yeah? I’m going to need to figure out where to stick an extra heatsink in your arms. This shit’ll generate heat.”

“Can you just vent it out from my hands?”

“Some of it sure. But it’s probably going to get so hot, if I send all of it that way, you’ll leave burn marks on everything you touch. I know Miu’s into some weird shit but let’s make it so it’s adjustable yeah? Don’t want to torch her if she’s not a fan. I know I can blow some of it back up the other way if I’m careful with the wiring.”

“I... I trust you, Kazuichi.”

“I’m going to have to shut you off for this, since I need to check energy usage. Good?”

“Good...

night?”

“Yeah, night.” Kazuichi replied, cradling K1-b0’s neck in a hand, letting go of his power switch.  “That took longer than expected, sorry. You’ve got plastic gears in one wrist and steel in the other. Want me to swap some out? They unbalanced?”

“No, I’m right hand dominant, Miu changed those to steel since they get far more use.”

“I mean changing the plastic ones. I’m worried they might... erm, melt.”

“They are stable to 125* Celsius, if I generate that much in my wrists from this, I am concerned.”

Kazuichi grinned, slapping K1-b0 on the back. “You’re good. Go get ‘em, Tiger.”

* * *

The final question remained. How would K1-b0 offer his own services to Miu? Usually one of two things prompted a visit to the mechanic or inventor- either K1-b0 asked for help or one of them (usually Kazuichi) noticed something was wrong.

K1-b0 sat in the library after class, pulling at his hair.

And Tsumugi was staring. She was too shy to actually say anything, but K1-b0 could see her from one of his cameras. Sighing, he got up, and flopped into the bean bag chair next to her, almost puncturing it from his weight.

“Tsumugi, I need your help.”

“From plain old me? Oh, my, what could a mere cosplayer be able to do for someone as amazing as you, K1-b0?”

“I... so...”

Somehow bringing it up to Tsumugi was much harder than Hajime, Izuru, or Kazuichi. Kazuichi, he could talk to about upgrades, and Hajime and Izuru were the best of heart and mind, respectively. He wished he could steal some of their confidence.

K1-b0 started again. “I am trying to offer something in kind to someone who has done good to me.”

Tsumugi mulled it over in her head for a moment, putting down the manga she was reading. “So, who are you propositioning, Kaz or Miu?”

“Was it that easy to tell?”

Tsumugi waved her comic in K1-b0’s direction. “Hifumi or I would be the first to tell you just how much this looks like it came out of a shojo manga,” she added with a small laugh.

“I wished to repay Miu in kind, if she wanted it,” K1-b0 replied, lowering his voice modulator a few notches so only Tsumugi could hear.

A devil of a smile crossed Tsumugi’s lips and K1-b0 realized he’d doomed himself to the entire student body knowing.

“Really now?”

K1-b0 thought quickly. “Er, yes. Miu has assisted with my own maintenance, and I noticed her shoulder is misaligned. I wished to assist, as she is loath to go anywhere near the medical staff.” It helped that it wasn’t a lie; it just wasn’t the whole truth.

It seemed to do the trick, as Tsumugi’s evil little grin faded. “Awwwww. That’s all?”

“I was trying to figure out how to approach her about it, given her trepidation.”

Tsumugi scratched the back of her neck. “And here I thought I’d have a juicy piece of friend-fiction to write. Ah, well. To be expected of boring little me.” Tsumugi sighed. “Well, have you considered role-play?”

“What?”

“Role-play. Clearly, she has a fear of doctors, so frame it as you offering to be her mechanic for once? Ask  **_her_ ** if she needs a tune up. Bring a little fantasy into it to make her feel a bit more comfortable.”

K1-b0 smiled. “I think this is the first time that you and Kokichi suggested the same thing to me. Although his was a lot more sarcastic than yours.”

“Well, if you’re doing it that way, go the whole nine yards, right? Invite her to her lab like she does for you, maybe get a lab coat or something? And walk her through fixing her arm as if she’d do for you. You should probably ask Mikan to show you what to look for, don’t want to make it worse.”

“Already done.”

Tsumugi giggled a little. “Need me to write you a script?”

“I… don’t think that’s necessary, Tsumugi. Thank you for the offer, though.”

“Awwwww… I’ll talk to Hifumi about it then. A robot seeing his human mechanic in pain, tenderly taking care of her the way she would for him! The fujoshis would eat it up- especially if the mechanic was a  **_he_ ** instead. Aaaaah, I’m already imagining it.”

K1-b0 blushed dark red. “I… suppose I’ll leave you to it…”

* * *

K1-b0 made a small coupon for Miu, and left it in her mailbox at the entryway to the girl’s dorms. Tomorrow, he’d find out if she accepted, and made a beeline for Makoto- one of the only other boys his size- to borrow some clothes.

* * *

Izuru helped K1-b0 fix the knot in his tie, nodding at the job. “Don’t step outside without putting your exoskeleton back on. Your dust rating is too low. You don’t want to give Miu more work, do you?”

“No,” K1-b0 replied, looking at his body out of its thick black canvas and metal sheath. His fingers, exposed, glinted in the fluorescent lighting, showing off the detailed filigree pattern very few people ever actually got to see. His hands looked tough and strong (albeit small) within his exoskeleton’s gloves, but were actually extremely delicate machinery underneath. Most of his actual chassis was still covered, although in a white button down, vest, pants, and tie.  **_Makoto’s_ ** clothes, old, and his floormate insisted he didn’t want them back. The lab coat Izuru had brought, and let him know he had no need to return it either. It was the first time K1-b0 was in regular human clothing, and he’d never felt more exposed in his life.

“Make sure to soak your hands in rubbing alcohol and dry them thoroughly,” Izuru chided. “With all the details in your chassis, things can stick and hide in there.”

K1-b0 just nodded, fiddling with a cuff. All his new sensors were firing, he could feel the whir of his own servos though his fingertips. Kazuichi had outdone himself.

“You told her three, right? I’ll head out now. Call Hajime if you need us.”

“Thank you, Izuru. You’ve been too kind.”

Izuru shrugged. “It was that or destroy Junko in chess again. I need to play more games of chance so I’m not bored. Playing poker with Celeste, Kokichi, Makoto, and Nagito is a hell of a drug. I actually  **_lose_ ** some of the time.”

“Deal me in the next time you all play?”

Izuru just shook his head and laughed. “If you want to end the night short a limb or your dignity, sure. Anyway, I’m out. Don’t do anything I would do.”

K1-b0 adjusted his tie and waited to see if Miu would accept.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, and the door clicked. Miu was trying to unlock a door already open. Breathlessly, she flung it open, huffing out an apology for being late.

And then she looked up.

And screamed.

And fled.

Everything went out the window as K1-b0 chased her down outside, the wind whistling in the gaps of exposed wire between his dainty, ornate hands and feet. He could run some compressed air and electronics fluid over himself later, not even considering the feeling that for the first time, he was essentially, despite being clothed, running around campus barefoot and naked.

Kokichi whistled. “Looking good Keeboy!”

K1-b0 didn’t make the effort to respond in a human-like manner, merely screeching a servo to express his anger as he continued to run. He wasn’t fast, especially with his weight, but he also didn’t tire.

“If you’re trying to scare Miu, you’re doing a baaaaangup job!” Kokichi yelled after K1-b0, when it dawned on the bot.

The lab coat was a  **_very_ ** bad idea. K1-b0 unbuttoned it as he ran shoeless, frowning when he felt his exposed foot squash in mud. He flung the coat off and just kept going. Miu wasn't athletic, he just needed to find her when she was catching her breath and apologize. If she’d even let him speak to her, that is.

She’s curled up sobbing, under a tree, with Mikan looking on just off the side, afraid of getting closer.

K1-b0 takes a step, then another.

“Miu, if you’ll listen to me…”

“No doctors!” she shrieked.

“And I’m not a doctor,” K1-b0 replied. “I’m not even wearing my exoskeleton. Just a suit.”

“You’re going to ruin your exposed wire,” she whined, looking up at K1-b0, realizing it was indeed just him. “Oh, no, no, no, look at your foot! I’m going to have to dismantle it and sterilize everything. And check your solder connections. Coooome on, no more walking around outside without your exoskeleton on.” She paused, and in a moment of mood whiplash, screamed at the top of her lungs. 

“Sakura!” she shrieked, flailing towards the monster of a woman doing pushups with Akane and Maki on the grass. “Lift up this idiot and haul him back to my lab. I don’t want him getting any dirtier.”

Sakura got up from her exercises and walked over, effortlessly lifting K1-b0 up on her shoulders, all 98 kilograms of metal and wire and circuitry. Normally, K1-b0 would protest, his gyroscope going haywire, but he took this as punishment for his sin of frightening one of his best friends, dealing with the massive alarm bells of vertigo by focusing on Miu’s increasingly mad ranting as she stomped in front back to her laboratory.

Sakura carefully lowered K1-b0 on Miu’s workbench, wiping the mud off on a clean rag on the racks. “You’re pretty,” she said, in her typical baritone, looking at the ornate patterns of K1-bo’s exposed hands and feet. “Why do you cover yourself in that black trash bag?”

“Because Mister Heart Attack here is fucking fragile! Look at all that external wire at his joints! You have any idea how much damage that’d take being exposed to the elements? He’d need to live indoors, all the time, in a sterile environment. That exoskeleton is waterproof, and very good at keeping out foreign debris. Speaking of debris…” she added, side eyeing Sakura.

The giant of a woman took the hint, and left.

Miu breathed out a heavy sigh.

“Who put you up to that?” she asked, accusatory, as she began to dismantle one of K1-b0’s feet, carefully placing the ornate plates in a shallow vat of rubbing alcohol as she wiped down all the exposed cables, checking for damage. K1-b0 reflexively curled his completely exposed foot, and Miu grabbed it, holding the cables and servos in her hand. “If it was Kokichi I will fucking murder him.”

“It was not,” K1-b0 said, shutting down his legs completely so he wouldn’t twitch under her touch. Feeling his cabling go slack in her hand, Miu let go and continued to separate his plates, rolling up his pants to pull off and examine his calves.

“Did Mikan do it? She knows I won’t put a thirty meter pole near the cuntbag health committee.”

“No, nobody put me up to it. I noticed you were tense, and your shoulder was not sitting correctly in its socket, and after consideration I figured the only way to help was to treat it as if I was repairing you mechanically. I did not stop to think you would associate a lab coat with d- hm. With the kind of staff Mikan typically works for.”

“The fucking word doesn’t trigger me, not anymore. You can say  **_doctor_ ** ,” Miu replied, absentmindedly tapping K1-b0’s knee. “Can you just take off everything? It’ll be easier.”

K1-b0 nodded and shuffled to the side, removing the clothes, looking down at the leg Miu had already stripped bare to his guts. “I feel more naked with them on than just my exposed chassis and wire anyway.”

Miu grinned evilly. “Do you? Well, I think they look cute on you. Indoors, maybe you could wear clothes  **_more_ ** often?”

“You… are not upset?” K1-b0 asked, faceplate glowing red.

“Oh, no, I’m upset. But not at you, just the situation. You didn’t scare me on purpose, I know you… inside and out.”

K1-b0 whined.

Miu held and rotated his right forearm. “What have we here?” she asked breathy, puressing her face an inch from his, rolling her finger down from his elbow to his hand. K1-b0’s new tactile sensors went into overdrive, and his ocular sensors ceased to process correctly.

K1-b0 quickly halved their energy output, and stuttered out. “I… may have asked Kazuichi for some tactile modifications. I can regulate my surface temperature and detect muscle spasms more easily.”

Miu put down his arm, and opened up his clenched palm to check for abnormalities.

She sighed. “You asked Kazuichi to make you a sexbot?”

“I… might have,” he replied sheepishly. “With Izuru’s help.”

Miu dropped his hand, and let out an uncharacteristically flat “what”.

Miu facepalmed with both hands. “ **_Why_ ** ?”

“You are constantly making remarks that are exceedingly sexual in nature as you’ve worked on me the past few months,” K1-b0 replied candidly, as Miu tapped her fingers on the edge of the workbench’s pad. “You’ve cleaned ne, cared for me, and maintained me on a weekly basis. I figured I could return the favor in kind.”

“K1-b0, relationships aren’t ‘insert kindness, expect sex’- as much as our media says so,” she replied, dropping any traces of a brash facade, as she detached the filigree plates off his fingers, carefully putting them in the same vat as the other pieces. “I’m helping you because I want to. I’m not actually expecting anything out of it. I make lewd jokes because it still reminds me of hospitals, even if I’m not the one on the operating table. If I keep talking, I’m not thinking, and if I’m not thinking, I’m okay.”

“Oh…” K1-b0 replied softly. “So I completely misread your intentions. I am an idiot.”

“Oh, see, now, that doesn’t mean I don’t like you,” she added. “But I just assumed you weren’t programmed for that. I… actually just figured my running commentary went over your head.”

“It did, at first. And then I asked Kokichi what some of your more colorful expressions meant. And  **_then_ ** I confirmed that with Makoto because I didn’t trust him. When Makoto blushed and shut his door on me, I understood Kokichi wasn’t lying. He didn’t need to, as the truth was raunchy enough.”

Miu cackled loudly, spittle flying from her mouth. “So this whole time, I could have had mind blowing robosex if I asked you for it?”

K1-b0 thought a moment, before answering emphatically, “Yes.”

Miu sighed loudly, looking at the half-disassembled android in front of her, still having a fully coherent conversation. 

“Well, let's start with a rain check for my own maintenance session then. I think you need a little more… attention… than I do, today, don’t you?”

K1-b0 blushed again. “I am truly sorry for any trouble I’ve caused.”

“Oh, but I like hearing you whine while you’re missing two of your limbs. It’s nice to have someone at my mercy,” she added with a lecherous grin.

K1-b0 just laughed as she disassembled his other arm, dropping plates into a second vat of rubbing alcohol.

* * *

K1-b0 rolled his shoulder in his socket, nervously. Hopefully the second time was the charm. Gone, thankfully for Miu, was the lab coat, as K1-b0 decided to take on an approach a little closer to Miu’s form of dress- steampunk. He still wore the borrowed slacks, button down, vest and tie, but managed to find a newsboy’s hat and goggles, and was mysteriously gifted an old pair of Junko’s knee-high lace up boots, which fit surprisingly well.

Of course, it had been Kokichi who had given them to him. It almost felt like an apology.

Almost.

K1-b0 paced, heels clicking on the floor, when the door opened.

“Ah! Miu!” K1-b0 said with a small smile. “I heard you had to cancel your last appointment. I do apologize.”

“Well, your other mechanic is a piece of shit. Y’all need to fire his ass.”

So she was going to play along. Thank goodness for Tsumugi, who had quizzed him the night after his own little escapade. And thankfully also didn’t spread around rumors of them actually doing anything, even helping putting out the wildfire that was the existing rumor of K1-b0 chasing Miu on campus in doctor’s clothes.

Tsumugi had felt mostly responsible for that, after all.

“I know some of your servos have been misaligned,” K1-b0 said, trying to stay on script. “Do you need me to carry you to the workbench?”

“Need? No.”

“Want, then?”

“Can you lift me? My chassis isn’t exactly aluminum or composite, you know.”

“I’ve been working out,” K1-b0 joked back, a small smile. He’d asked Kazuichi to raise his load bearing capacities to be able to lift 60kg instead of 20, just enough to safely carry Miu. “May I, miss?”

Miu laughed as K1-b0 scooped her up and twirled around with her in a bridal carry. “See? Stronger than I look.”

“And some amazing tats to boot. You gotta tell me who did them,” she said, running a hand along the whorls of his metal plates.

“No offense, miss, but I don’t think your model can get this kind of bodywork,” he replied, lowering her onto the workbench, which had been covered in a fitted sheet.

“Well, damn.”

“Would you like me to remove your exoskeleton, or can you safely detach it yourself?” K1-b0 asked, head cocked to one side.

“Slow down there, Tiger, a fembot like me needs more delicate handling. Go get your tools and compressed air from storage, I can take care of myself. Today, I just want the base package. I’ll decide later if I need anything else.”

“Oh, my apologies, Miss,” K1-bo replied with a blush. “There’s a second sheet and a heated blanket draped on the chair, please lay face down on the workbench and signal when you are ready.”

K1-b0 scurried off. He already had what he needed over at Miu’s drafting table, but he was doing this for her, at her speed. If all she wanted was to be looked at by a medical professional without feeling like she was at one, that was what he’d do.

A few minutes later. “Okay, I’m good.”

K1-b0 returned, leaving the massage oil and other items off on her drafting table. Miu needed an actual checkup first, though not everything in a day.

“Did you want me to observe your local issue at your shoulder servo, or may I perform a general diagnostic scan first?”

“General scan? What’s that?”

“I wish to record your exact operating temperature, the speed of your electrical signals, your response to audio and visual stimulus…”

“Not that today. Maybe when I’m a bit more comfortable with your team.”

So, that wasn’t what she wanted, either. Then what? Just get used to being with K1-b0 in this capacity?

“Do you just wish to maintain sleep mode like this today?” he asked cautiously, thinking of the right way to phrase it in a way that wouldn’t bring back her panic.

“No, I would like my shoulder taken care of. My… er, my sensors won’t shut up about it. And then… I could…” She was searching for words, before quietly adding, “...massage?”

K1-b0 grinned a little. “Ah, the cosmetic package. You looked as though you haven’t been oiling yourself correctly. No offense.”

Miu relaxed into the workbench, thankful for K1-b0 to steer the conversation off actual human anatomy. “None taken, grease monkey. Chop-chop. Us fembots are busy, busy!”

“I am going to roll the blanket down and begin my work, Miss Miu. Please let me know if the temperature is unconducive to my diagnostic.”

K1-b0 rolled back the blanket just enough, warmed his hands and turned on his new tactile sensors. Only enough to actually help him work on her, about 30% of their max power.

Miu flinched.

“You are unused to receiving outside assistance when you require repair,” K1-b0 noted, as he talked aimlessly while he gingerly touched her shoulder. It seemed to just be one very, very large knot. “Please let me know if I overload your tactile sensors. It’s a lot more common than most realize.”

“You’re fine, it was just… unexpected. I didn’t think you’d be cold, but…”

“Heat helps to expand metal. I am applying just enough to hopefully help disengage your issue. Let me grab some oil. That should help, too.”

K1-b0 squirted out a small dab of lotion on Miu’s back, to a small yelp. K1-b0 wouldn’t admit he felt like he thought Miu did when he jumped suddenly, or something twitched, or he made a noise, and it was...  **_nice_ ** . It felt warm, under his chestplate, though it was probably just his heatsinks picking up the extra slack.

“Oh… I apologize. That  **_would_ ** be a little cold.”

“Fucking terrible service, I tell you,” she joked, rolling her shoulder a little.

K1-b0 got back to work, letting one processor handle her shoulder while he attempted to keep Miu engaged with small talk.

“Are there any other issues you’re having that I should be aware of?” K1-b0 asked. “And please let me know if the pressure or temperature needs adjustment. I’ll be honest, this is the first time I’ve worked on your model type.”

“If… if you wouldn’t mind… my feet,” Miu said, slightly muffled and embarrassed.

“Why would I mind? My job is to send you out of here in better condition than you came in.”

Miu’s shoulder slowly relaxed, its knot finally released.

“Whoah,” she said quietly, as K1-b0 rolled the heated blanket back over her shoulders.

K1-b0 instructed Miu to flip face up under the covers, and pulled over a stool to sit at her feet and return to work.

* * *

Forty five minutes in, when K1-b0 was giving Miu a lazy scalp massage, Miu finally fell asleep. Between her insomnia, fear of medical staff, general anxiety, and regular night terrors, K1-b0 didn’t think it was possible for her to have even a single good night’s rest. He quietly wiped the lotion off his hands and stuck them in a bowl of isopropyl alcohol to soak, then sat guard on a stool near his sleeping friend.

She slept for seven hours, only once did it seem like a nightmare was about to come.

* * *

“Mph?” Miu stirred. K1-b0 looked up from his book. “Did I pass out in my lab again?”

“Of a sort,” K1-b0 replied. “You fell asleep during your diagnostic. I was closing up shop but was not going to leave you unattended.”

Miu realized where she was. “K1-b0, you can drop the act. I… I think I’m okay. Better than okay.” Quietly, she looked down at the covers swaddling her and whispered. “Thank you.”

“Do you want me to leave so you can get dressed?” he asked, curiously.

“Yeah.” She grinned. “I’m a fembot, not a sexbot, like  **_someone_ ** I know.”

“I can take a hint.”

“Sometimes.”

“Sometimes,” K1-b0 echoed, leaving the room for the adjoining storage closet. “And remember to drink some water, please.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she groaned.

K1-b0 waited, until Miu called him back to the main room, zipping up her boots.

“So what’s the charge on hugs?” she asked, smiling.

“Those are free,” K1-b0 replied, sitting himself down on the workbench next to Miu, as she pulled him closer by the waist.

“Thank you again,” Miu said, burying her head in the crook of K1-b0’s arm. “Is this… going to be a thing, now?”

“If you want it to be.”

“Maybe one day I’ll ask for the extra package,” she said, snuggling closer. “But for now, the base is fine.”

“I still need to…”

“I know I haven’t had a checkup since I was out of the hospital. Just… what you did helped, a lot. If I don’t ask for it by the end of next month you have my permission to just drag me here and get it over with. I’m sure Mikan and her cuntbag team would be happy I got a physical.”

K1-b0 pulled her in closer, her breathing calm. “You put me at ease, Miu. I live my life knowing you have my back should anything happen.”

“So Kaz is third rate is he?” she said with a laugh.

“Shopping around feels dirty,” K1-b0 joked back.

“Then I guess I have to use the same mechanic’s services from now on, don’t I?” Miu asked, poking at his chassis. “Y’know, the next time we do a school art exhibit, you should be on display. I don’t understand why your father would do all this detailing and then hide it under your exoskeleton like that. It’s criminal.”

Miu laughed, and sighed into K1-bo’s vest. “Can we stay like this, just a little longer?”

“As long as you’d like, Miu.”


End file.
